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A Healthy Balance
How Professional Aesthetics & Wellness Center offers patients a healthy balance with the use of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and more.

by Josephine Cusumano

It’s medically known that women experience a 30 percent drop in hormones when they reach the age of 40 to 50—and even more so during and after menopause. Additionally, men’s testosterone levels also experience a gradual decline starting at age 40. While some individuals m ay be unaware of this hormonal change, Richard  J. Dittrich, D.O., FACOG, medical director  of Profes sional Aesthetics & Wellness Center— with offices in South Jersey and Philadelphia—wants patients to be aware of the symptoms and know there is a way to balance their hormone s.

Those symptoms could include a decrease in sex drive, memory impairment and reduced mental focus, weight gain, hot flashes and night  sweats, difficulty  sleeping, lack of energy, irritability, decreased muscle strength and more. To achieve a balance in hormones, Profe ssional Aesthetics & Wellness Center offers patients bioidentical hormone  replacement therapy (BHRT), which is available in delivery op tions ranging from topical creams, pellets, tablets or patches.  

 “I have literally done thousands of them and hundreds of patients who ar e actively on the bioidentical hormone pellets therapy,” says Dr. Dittrich, who has been practicing gynecology for 40 years and administe ring BHRT for the past 10 years. “I’ve got to tell you, it just turns lives around.”  

Suburban Family magazine spoke with Dr. Dittrich to learn more about BHRT and additional services that improve individuals’ overall well-being. 

Who is the ideal candidate for BHRT?
Th ey could be young girls in their 20-30s who have a lot of PMS symptoms and their hormones are totally unbalanced. The majority of the pati ents  are premenopausal—the period around menopause—or menopausal women. Those are the ones who are mo st affected. … I do a very [expansive] panel of bloodwork, looking at everything from th e thyroid, cholesterol levels, kidneys and liver. Before I do anything, I interview  the patient, examine th em, get bloodwork and then we talk and see what’s appropriate. … I [also] treat men who are in andropause— menopa use fo r men— and who are hypogonadal, [meaning] they have low testosterone.  

What BHRT delivery options do you offer?
I started using bio identical creams and discovered that [pellets] seemed to work so much better because [while] the bioidentical creams work well for so me patients, there [is] a lot of inconsistency  with it—particularly with the dosage because they only last 12 hours max. … So we [use] these small capsules that go into the hip area of the patient. The procedure takes a minute and is painless. I give them hormones for at  least four months at a time and then we repeat the process. It is very effective [and] safe.

Which would you say is more effective?
It depends on the patient and what their needs are, but I feel the pellet therapy is a more effective therapy for the right patient.

How do  these therapies work?
The bioidentical hormone includes three hormones:  estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.  That’s important b ecause that’s what gives people their energy, mental focus, takes them out of that funk, changes their moods and also increases their sex ual desires.  

When will patients see results?
Usually within a week, sometimes longer. It [depends on the] individual. They will usuall y see more energy, better mental focus, sleeping well through  the night, elimination of hot flashes and night sweats, increased libido (s ex drive), better vaginal lubrication and no vaginal dryness, which plagues every single woman when she’s menopausal. Men ex perience in creased libido (sex drive), increased energy and usually reverse  of  ED (erectile dysfunction) and many more benefits.  

How can patients go about receiving BHRT?
If they think they’re having any of those problems, all they have to do [is] come in for a consultation …  and then we have a discussion, exam ination if it’s appropriate, draw the blood if it’s appropriate and within a week, we can deliver t he therapy.

What other services do you provide?
Today’s medicine is all about overall wellness and aesthetics is a natural extension of th at philosophy. Through a variety of medically managed  weight loss programs, bioidentical hormone replacement therapies for both women and  men, nutritional supplementation, laser therapies and cosmeceuticals, as well as Botox and dermal fillers, we are able to help our patients enjoy  the invigorating wealth of a healthy lifestyle.

Professional Aesthetics & Wellness Center
1000 White Horse Road, Suite 306, Voorhees
(856) 435-9090
WellnessCenterPa.com

Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Family Magazine, Volume 9, Issue 4 (June 2018).
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